Many mobile devices on the market today, including smartphones, tablets, notebook computers, and the like, come equipped with built-in media capturing components, including still cameras, video cameras, microphones, global positioning receivers, and the like. These components are used by millions of users to share photos and videos, use the internet for video chats, navigate roads with ease, along with a multitude of other uses.
However, when a person calls an emergency or municipal dispatch unit to report an incident from a mobile device, these media capturing capabilities are rarely used. Rather, an operator of a call center, such as a public-safety answering point (PSAP), receives the incoming calls, asks the caller several questions to assess the nature of the incident, and then delivers the call to a suitable dispatch unit, such as police, firefighting, ambulance services, and the like.
In many cases the calls received at these call centers are critical and every additional detail that can be retrieved from the call may help the dispatch operator better understand the situation in the field, and explain to the dispatched forces the situation before they arrive on-scene so they can be better prepared.
Some communication applications allow the device to connected to a dispatch unit system, by which audio, video, messages, and the like can be transmitted to the call center system. Thus, the dispatch operator is able to hear the user, see video captured in real time by the user's device, e.g., a smart phone or tablet, send and receive text messages, identify the communication device location, and the like.
However, these proposed systems require a user to download and install specialized applications, which may take time, losing precious moments of data. Further, in many emergency situations involving large numbers of individuals, available bandwidth of cellular networks become limited, as many devices attempt to connect the cellular networks at the same time. As such, communication and access to download applications over a cellular network may become unfeasible. Additionally, individuals experiencing a stressful emergency situation may be unfocused and unable to operate a previously installed application, let alone download and set up a new application on their devices.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a solution that would overcome the challenges noted above.